Teddy Lupin Visits Malfoy Manor
by Caliente
Summary: [Alphabet Meme: C is for Comfortable] Family is as family does. (Or: how the first time Teddy Lupin visits Malfoy Manor, meets Lucius Malfoy and flies a broom all happen in the same afternoon.) –– set about twelve years before the Deathly Hallows Epilogue; also featuring Draco and Narcissa Malfoy


**Author's Note: **For lady_with_cats on livejournal who requested Teddy Lupin with the prompt "comfortable" as part of the Alphabet Meme. Thank you to TimeLord98 for betaing—you're a peach.  
**Disclaimer:** Characters mentioned are used without permission and are trademarks of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Studios. I do not own them and am simply borrowing for my purposes. Please don't sue!

**Teddy Lupin Visits Malfoy Manor**  
by Bether

The first time Teddy visits Malfoy Manor, he's five years old. He dislikes it on sight. It's so big and fancy, all made of stone. It's nothing like the flat he shares with Grandromeda. He loves their flat—it's tiny and filled with toys, fuzzy blankets and pictures. Sometimes he visits Uncle Harry's house. He always thought it was big but Malfoy Manor is way more giant. Uncle Harry's house can be kind of scary but his godfather always does his best to make him feel safe.

Teddy is standing beside Grandromeda holding her hand when a House Elf answers the door. Aunt Cissy, Cousin Draco and Uncle Lucius stand in the hall to welcome them. Teddy's met his Aunt Cissy and Cousin Draco several times, and he thinks this place suits them. They're always unfailingly polite but also distant. Sometimes their visits are boring, sometimes Grandromeda and Aunt Cissy cry. Secretly, he is usually glad when they leave. (He knows this is Not A Nice Thought, so he doesn't share it with his gran.)

Teddy has not met Uncle Lucius before—he never comes to their house for some reason—but there's no question about who he is. He looks just like Cousin Draco except older. ('Sides, who else would it be?) It's Uncle Lucius who speaks first. "Andromeda." He nods his head toward her than looks at Teddy. "And this must be young Edward."

"Teddy," Grandromeda corrects the smile that usually means someone's in trouble. She gently tugs him forward with her. (Even though he is a Big Boy, he's glad she keeps holding his hand.) "This is your Uncle Lucius."

Teddy can only stare at the ground as he mumbles, "Hello," because Uncle Lucius is somehow Very Scary without being a giant or boggart or any of the other monsters that he still worries live under his bed sometimes. (Uncle George, who is not really his Uncle in the same way Uncle Lucius is but is a lot less scary, gave him a Big Boy monster book for his last birthday that he really loves but is not allowed to look at after dark because sometimes he has nightmares if he does.)

Aunt Cissy mutters something Teddy can't hear to Uncle Lucius, who grunts in response, then sweeps forward to hug her sister. She bends down to look Teddy in the eyes and smiles at him. Aunt Cissy is the prettiest woman he knows after not-really-his-Aunt Fleur and he can't help but smile back, albeit a bit shyly. His hair turns pink and he sees a sour expression on his Uncle's face, which causes it to change promptly back to black. (For whatever reason, Teddy cannot use his Metamorphmagus powers when he gets scared.)

Aunt Cissy glares over her shoulder toward Uncle Lucius but is smiling again when she turns back to him. "Look how you've grown, Teddy," she coos, ruffling his hair. "At this rate, you'll be as tall as Draco in no time."

Teddy glances at Cousin Draco and sees him smiling a little at the comment. Cousin Draco only ever smiles a little, if at all. Even when Teddy makes really goofy faces (and he can do that better than most with his powers), there's only ever a small quirk to his lips—like he wants to grin but his mouth doesn't remember how. (Now that he's met Uncle Lucius, Teddy thinks maybe his mouth has never known how.)

"Gran says I'm almost big enough to fly on a grown-up broom," Teddy tells her proudly, trying to stand as straight as possible. "Uncle Harry promised to teach me this summer."

Immediately the entire room is filled with tension. It's only then that Teddy remembers Grandromeda told him not to talk about Uncle Harry or the Weasleys with the Malfoys. He doesn't look at Cousin Draco or Aunt Cissy or Uncle Lucius; he just shrinks back toward his grandmother and wonders if he can use his powers to become invisible. He doesn't want to be in trouble…

Cousin Draco breaks the silence. "Nonsense. I'll take you to the yard and teach you today." He strides over to Teddy purposefully, placing a hand on his shoulder and guiding him back toward the door they entered. "Potter wasn't the only one who played seeker for their house, you know." Teddy has never understood why Cousin Draco always refers to Uncle Harry by his surname. He's tried asking but has never received a real answer. "And _I_ never fell off my broom with absolutely no provocation, either."

Teddy glances periodically over his shoulder as Cousin Draco leads the way. Grandromeda, Aunt Cissy and Uncle Lucius are all wearing Very Serious expressions but nobody is yelling like sometimes happens at the Burrow or when Teddy is particularly naughty, so maybe they're just discussing adult things. The House Elf that answered the door shuts it behind him, effectively erasing them from sight.

After a moment, Teddy looks at Cousin Draco. "What's prah-voe-kay-shun mean?" he asks, repeating the word awkwardly.

Cousin Draco chuckles dryly. "You never ask easy questions, do you?" Teddy doesn't answer because his cousin keeps talking: "I wonder if I was that way at your age."

Unsure how to respond, Teddy shrugs. "I dunno." He looks up at the sky, which is clear despite the crisp fall air. "Can we fly now?"

Cousin Draco's mouth quirks into another small smile. "Sure, kid. Broom shed's this way…"

* * *

"…and then Cousin Draco showed me how to call for the broom and we went flying together and it was _awesome!_" Teddy finishes with a wide grin on his face, falling back into the couch. He doesn't bother to mention the quiet, fancy lunch that'd followed—it'd been pretty boring with Uncle Lucius hardly speaking and Aunt Cissy trying too hard to make conversation. (Teddy thinks he must not be the only one who finds Uncle Lucius intimidating because there is always plenty of chatting whenever Aunt Cissy and Cousin Draco visit Grandromeda's house without him.)

Uncle Harry is grinning back but it's not as enthusiastic as when they'd talked about flying the last time. "Sounds like you had a lot of fun."

Teddy curls up beside Uncle Harry and shrugs. "That part was fun. Cousin Draco showed me some fancy moves, too, but said I couldn't try them until I got into Hogwarts." He pouted adorably as an appeal to his godfather's sensibilities.

Uncle Harry wraps an arm around Teddy. "He's right." He sounds a little surprised for some reason.

Teddy takes that as his cue to present his case. "But if I wanna be on my House team, shouldn't I know everything?"

Unfortunately, Uncle Harry does not seem moved by him. If anything, he looks like he's trying not to laugh. "First of all, your school days are still a few years away—you've plenty of time to practice beforehand. Secondly, lots of students don't even learn how to fly at all until Hogwarts. I didn't, and I was on my team the whole time I was there."

Teddy's eyes are wide as he stares at the man beside him. "You didn't know how to fly until you got to Hogwarts?" He's always thought his godfather knew _everything_ and the idea that there'd been a time when he didn't is a foreign one.

Laughing, Uncle Harry shakes his head. "Teddy, I'd only found out I was a wizard days earlier." He continues chuckling quietly—fondly. "But that's a story for another day. You, young man, are due back at your grandmother's soon."

"Aww, can't I sleepover?" Teddy widens his eyes as he pleads. "_Please?_ Please, please, please?"

His godfather remains unmoved. "Not tonight, Teddy—I've got an early meeting tomorrow." He pats Teddy's knee. "How about we read a book before you go, though?"

"Yay!" Teddy loves Uncle Harry's book collection. A lot of them are from not-really-his-Aunt Hermione. They're Muggle books and mostly terribly silly. After some contemplation, Teddy chooses one about a moose eating a cookie and brings it back to the couch. "This one."

Uncle Harry smiles. "I like this one," he whispers, like it's a secret.

Teddy grins. "Me too," he whispers back. Then he snuggles into his godfather's side and sighs happily. There's no place in the world he feels more comfortable than this—it's the safest, warmest place he knows.

It's no surprise that Teddy is fast asleep before Uncle Harry finishes the story.


End file.
